Why You Won't Find Anthony Bourdain at a Trump Restaurant

Trump restaurants are set to remain parts unknown for the celebrity chef.

Jess McHugh

December 21, 2016

Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and outspoken host of CNN's “Parts Unknown,” says he will not eat in restaurants owned by president-elect Donald Trump.

“I will never eat in his restaurant,” Bourdain said in an interview with Eaterpublished Wednesday. “I have utter contempt for him, utter and complete contempt.”

The host went on to encourage other chefs and celebrities to refuse to endorse or normalize Trump, criticizing Al Gore and Kanye West, among others, who have met with the president-elect in the past several weeks.

“I’m not asking you to start putting up barricades now, but when they come and ask you, ‘Are you with us?’ You do have an option. You can say ‘No thanks, guys. I don’t look good in a brown shirt. Makes me look a little, I don’t know, not great. It’s not slimming,’" Bourdain said.

Bourdain's words come just days after Vanity Fair published an article musing whether Trump Grill was “the worst restaurant in America.” The story denigrated both the ambiance and food of the restaurant, with the author describing the food as both "flaccid" and a “cheap version of rich.”